Climatology Evaluation of Offshore Maryland Wind Resources

摘要

Over the last few years, thernPower Plant Research Program (PPRP)rnhas been involved with evaluating windrnresources within Maryland for potentialrnwind power production, includingrnmore recent evaluations of offshorernwind resources. The Johns HopkinsrnUniversity Applied Physics Laboratoryrn(APL) retrieved wind data from syntheticrnaperture radar (SAR) satellite data forrnlocations representing Maryland offshorernareas for the years 1996-2008. In additionrnto the SAR data, historic buoy data arernavailable from the National Buoy DatarnCenter (NDBC) for Delaware Bay (StationrnNumber 44009) for the years 1984 through 2009. And finally, prognosticrnwind data sets generated by the MM5rnmodel are available for the years 2001-rn2006. Each of these data sources hasrnlimitations in terms of usefulness for windrnresource evaluations. In this poster,rnclimatological trends from the threernsources are compared and contrasted.rnThe results of this preliminary study arernproviding insights into availability andrncharacteristics (e.g. seasonal and diurnalrntrends) of wind resources at offshorernMaryland locations. Additionally, thernresults of this study are providing insightsrninto variations in wind speed and direction over longer time durations.